Roman Holiday

The cloud of ash has dispersed and I'm leaving for the airport in a couple hours to go to Italy. While there I plan to do many things, including singing the whole score of Nine: The Musical many times and eating gelato. It will be great!

Brittany and I fly into Rome today and Stacy joins us tomorrow. We stay there until late Monday and then head to Florence for a couple days. We end our trip in Venice. It should be a good time provided another volcano doesn't erupt and we get stranded in Italy, and even then it could be a good time.

Karaoke Update

Thursday night means only one thing- karaoke at the Wicked Wolf. We were very disappointed last week because it was cancelled but today was a good time as always. Here are the highlights.

• Greeted by Canadian Mark and his rasping voice. He later sang “Gangsters’ Paradise” and “Streets of Philadelphia,” as he does every week. I think he has been practicing “Gangster Paradise” because it was better this week. I still only catch about 1/3 of “Streets of Philadelphia” but maybe he’ll get it eventually.
• Brittany and I sang “Love Shack.” Naturally it was amazing.
• “Don’t Stop Believin’” came on it I danced like crazy because it is one of my favorites and always puts a smile on my face.
• I almost started crying when “I Want to Go Home” came on. Instead I just settled for fake crying.
• At the end of the night Brock Jones and Allister dedicated “End of the Road” to “the four Americans and one Australian” which was very nice; they know we love it. However, there were only four of us, not five.
• We had a sing along with Allister, resident X-Factor contestant, at the end of the night outside the bar which included “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” He later joined us at Supermacs, our favorite Irish fast food restaurant. Stacy, however, did not order the chicken tenders meal and therefore did not give me her drink. Laura did though.
• We had another great conversation with our cabbie. Stacy always sits in front and shares all about our night.

Farewell Dinner II and Elections

Tuesday was an uneventful day that involved going to EU and the Business Environment class and reading the new book I got at the Dun Laoghaire farmers' market. The Study Abroad Program sponsored a farewell dinner that night and I am always down for free food. The sweeten the deal they even added a free gift, which turned out to be a UCD t-shirt.

The dinner they served was a nice buffet and really good cheesecake. They also served all-you-can-drink wine, something that still shocks be because that does not happen at University of Illinois. We also had entertainment after dinner which included the Irish House Party performing again. We even had some performers from our program go up and sing! We also did a dance where we got to meet different people but it made people who were partaking in the all-you-can-drink wine a little dizzy.

After the farewell dinner I just headed back to my dorm. It was the night of elections back in the realm of the Upsilon Chapter down in Champaign so I wanted to chat with Gia a little bit beforehand. We were running for Vice President Professional together and I wanted to make sure everything was ready for the big presentation. It is so hard being away from campus during these things because I want to be there to help Gia make the presentation, give my pros for people running for positions, and be able to vote.

But to make up for my lack of physical presence I woke up at 4 am to attempt to be part of the process. It was really nice having many of the Dsigs on Gchat (everyone's preferred form of communication) so that I could chat with them and watching the sunrise out my window. The downside is that right now I am extremely tired; the position Gia and I were running for didn't come up until about 7 am. At 5:30 I went into my kitchen to discover the fuse was tripped and the fridges were not on. I reset the fuse and was a hero.

At 7 Gia gave the powerpoint and speech and at the end there was a little video of me (16 seconds to be exact). Lindsay came on Gchat and said that I looked beautiful during it which boosted my spirits a little. I was also chatting with Olivia but after my speech they weren't chatting with me (because they were talking about the candidates) and it took a suspiciously long time. At one point I was convinced that I had lost and no one had the heart to tell me so they were just giving me the cold shoulder.

At about 7:45 Olivia came back on and told me that we won! What a pleasant surprise! Laura told me to wake her up when I heard so I flung open her door at 7:50 am to tell her the good news and she was happy to. Laura knows quite a bit about what happens in the frat and was glad to hear that Danny and Tiffany won as well and wanted me to send along her congratulations.

Gia and I have a lot of work ahead of us but it is so exciting. I was so happy and, although I tried to sleep a little before my 9 am class I couldn't sleep.

Tonight Britt and I went out to celebrate. We searched for traditional Irish music and ended up a VAT House for a little while, then O'Gogarty's. At O'Gogarty's they played "Take Me Home Country Roads," which seems to be a favorite of the Emerald Isle. We also think we may have stumbled upon a pub crawl because they fed us free chicken fingers. We took advantage of this and had about 5 each, which somewhat set off the price of our very expensive drinks.

Laura got me flowers with a lovely note:

"Congratulations on being elected Professional! You deserve it!"

I love her.

Europe Versus the Volcano

As many of you may know, thousands of travellers are stranded in various destinations due to a cloud of volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Apparently the ash clogs the engines and makes planes stop working, something I would not want to happen while in the air. Therefore, flights have been cancelled since Wednesday (at least from the UK). Some flights are supposed to be resumed today (Tuesday) but there are questions of when all flights will start running as usual, especially with the threat of another cloud of ash coming our way.

We were taking the bus into the city the other day and Brittany mentioned how empty the city seemed. I said, "Well I guess there aren't any tourists, except the ones that are stuck here." Jen had her flight to Scotland cancelled and Stevie was supposed to have friends coming in last weekend but they weren't able to. Dorothy, our favorite Irish grandmother, was unable to come to the Farewell Dinner because she was stuck in Barcelona with her husband, and Kayla, one of my friends from class, was supposed to come back to Dublin from Turkey this weekend but is stuck there until at least Friday. Cambridge has cancelled its final exams. I hear that trains, buses, and ferries are booked at over a week in advance. I've even heard of people travelling 100 hours to get back to Dublin!

One of the better stories I've heard is about a boy who went for a weekend in Portugal and for some reason his credit card wouldn't work or he did have one on him. He was stuck in Portugal without any way to pay for housing and food so he had to pick oranges to earn some money.

I'm supposed to go to Italy on Friday for a week. I think that I will be able to fly there by then but my concerns are a) not being able to fly back because of another ash cloud and b) not being able to get transportation from Rome to Florence or Venice due to the high demand for buses and trains. Our Plan B if we can't get a train or bus is to rent a car and go on an Italian roadtrip. That could be pretty epic.

Farewell Dinner

Tonight we went to a farewell put on by the Quinn Business School for all the study abroad students. It was at the Arlington Hotel downtown and a lot of good craic.

We got treated to a three course meal which worked for me. One of the highlights was when the waitress came around taking drink orders. I ordered a coke and she asked if I knew that drinks were being paid for by the school and then asked why wouldn't I get an alcoholic beverage. I told her I would just stick with the coke, thanks anyway. Then she felt kinda bad. Everyone at the table thought that was pretty hilarious. I did however try a Bailey's with dessert and that was delicious!

We also had entertainment during dinner. First a band came on stage and played some traditional Irish tunes, which always make me smile (unless its one of the really tragic ones, and there are quite a few of those). After the band four Irish dancers took the stage and preformed. It was a great show, although they may not have been up to Riverdance standards. They did play "Lord of the Dance" quite a few times which had Stacy and I singing along. Here are some videos:





After dinner we tried to meet up with some classmates at The Porterhouse but there must have been a change of plans because they we're there so we took the bus home. And we have Farewell Dinner II tomorrow.

Farmers Markets and Footy

Sunday was not the beautiful sunny day we had gotten accustomed to but it was nice enough for Stacy, Brittany, and I to venture to Dun Laoghaire for the Sunday farmers market. We got on the bus and took an hour ride into the quaint little seaside town of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "dun leery").

The farmers market was in People's Park (which kinda makes it sound communist). It was a really cute farmers market with fresh produce, jewelry, and all sort of different foods, including falafel, pizza, and crepes. After browsing around for a while I got a crepe with gruyere, black forest ham, pesto, and sundried tomatoes; needless to say it was delicious. Brittany got a pizza and Stacy got some muffins and we headed to the harbour to watch the waves crash and eat our food. We had girl talk and once we got too cold while sitting we took a stroll down the pier.

After w had our fill of Dun Laghaire we headed back into Dublin. We were set to meet the other girls at The Woolshed to watch the Australian Football game. We got into the city very early so we hit up Penney's, a great store that is super cheap because they use child labour (not kidding, there is a lawsuit). I had actually bought a bikini and blazer (of course not to be worn together- one is polka dotted and the other is stripes) the other day but Stacy had yet to witness Penney's so we browsed around. It was a good time and hard to resist all the cute clothing but I'm still on a budget. After a bit of shopping we headed over to the Woolshed.

We got there about an hour before the other girls (Stevie and Laura) were getting there so we got a table near the TV and ordered some food. Eventually the two others got there but we were in for disappointment- the Carlton footy game was cancelled! I still haven't got the whole story but we couldn't watch it that night. What a bummer, Laura was seriously looking forward to reconnecting with her Australian heritage. We had to buy her chocolate so she could get over it.

But the excitement wasn't over yet. I went into my kitchen that night to make myself some nutella on toast (a new favorite) and there was a puddle of milk on the floor which smelled awful. I got Laura because she has been on a passive-aggressive crusade ever since our other roommate literally threw her trash on the floor when the bag was full.

We started cleaning up the sour milk and then realized that the milk expired March 10! That's 5 weeks late. It must have corroded the bottle and was leaking from the fridge. We had a good laugh and then tried removing the spoiled milk smell from our kitchen. I'm sure that someone put the milk in there and just forgot about it but, coupled with the garbage that no one takes out and the missing silverware/dishes, it was reason to write another note.

Real Life Sheep Herding

Here is a video from my day on the farm. I never thought I would see a scene like this in real life. Enjoy!

Getting Bogged Down on the Farm

It was like being back in Champaign (or at least it smelled like it)!

Quinn Business School organized a trip to Causey Farm and the day was so amazing it ranked in my Top Ten for Ireland. Dorothy, our usual trip leader, could not be there because she was stuck in Barcelona due to the volcanic ash that has grounded most planes, but we had a great time nonetheless.

Our day started with an hour bus ride from UCD to Causey Farm in County Meath. We got off the bus and could immediately smell that we were one a farm, and don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy that smell.

The first task of the day was making Irish brown soda bread. Our host for the day, Debbie, first demonstrated how to make the bread then we got to try our hand at it. The recipe was simple and included brown flour, white flour, egg, and buttermilk. Then they baked the bread and we had it with our lunch.

I'm like an Irish Betty Crocker.

After our bread was in the oven we began our tour around the farm. They had plenty of baby animals and I have discovered that there is nothing cuter than baby animals. Our first stop was a sheep who had just had triplets. By the time I return to the US I will have seen literally thousands of sheep; they are everywhere.

Cute!

After seeing the lambs we went to the barn next door which held the cows and donkeys. Another farm worker offered to let us milk the cow and Brittany jumped at the opportunity. After Jen and my skinny dipping episode yesterday Brittany was in the market to do something crazy and when the farmer asked if she wanted to try the milk she said she was game! When Brittany asked where the cup was the farmer told her she had to get under the udder and squirt it in her mouth. For us city folk that was a little much so Brittany settled for having the milkmaid squirt the milk into her mouth while she was standing up. That's straight from the udder to your mouth. Go Brittany! (And she was the only person brave enough to try it!) In the barn was also a calf that I made friends with. I went down to pet him and he put two of my fingers in his mouth and sucked on them like a bottle (and it tickled a lot). We obviously had a connection and I considered taking him home but there were many problems with that plan, the least of which was what happens when it gets to big to share my bed with me.

The collies on the farm had just had puppies so the tour of baby animals continued! We each got to hold a puppy and they were so soft and sweet (except when they defecated on some of the students). They didn't really look like dogs, more like guinea pigs, but cute nonetheless.

Stacy and her puppy.

After puppies we also saw chickens and rooster, pigs and boars, a goose, rabbit, and even a billy goat! One of the boys we were with even rode the giant pig for a while which took some skill.

It was a very Irish day, and although we did not see any leprechauns, we did do some Irish dancing in the barn. Debbie taught us some basic steps and I think we did a great job. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at the fact that here I was in Ireland, dancing to Irish music in a barn. It was a perfect memory. It was so perfect one of the collies tried to join us in the barn, jumping through the half door into the barn. We are just that fun of a group!

Block the Dog wanted to join in the fun!

After baking bread, dancing, and milking cows how could this day on the farm get any better? Well, one of the workers asked if we wanted to see the dogs do work. He then brought us to one of the fields and had the dog herd the sheep for us. It was something that I never thought I would see in real life and the whole time I kept thinking this was like a scene from Babe (of course a dog was herding the sheep, not a pig). Still very impressive! I have some videos that I will get up eventually.

And the Irish fun continued with a lesson in Bodhran, an ancient Irish drum made of goat skin. We got a quick lesson and then drummed along with Irish music being played by a stereo. I don't know if I have a career as a Bodhran player but it was fun and another "Wow, is this really happening?" moment in Ireland.

Up next was lunch. We had our bread, some cheese that was delicious, and veggie soup. We also got fresh scones and tea or coffee. Perfect farm lunch.

And after filling up we went out to the hurling pitch to learn how to play hurling. Hurling is a traditional Gaelic sport that is considered the fasted field sport in the world. All the towns have hurling teams and it is a big part of the Irish culture. All the players are also amateur so they play only for the love of the sport. I tried my best to show off my hurling skills but it is a difficult sport. I did however have the farthest hit for a while!

I'm starting a hurling club at U of I

After learning that hurling might not be my sport we headed to the bog! Brittany and I changed into our junky clothes in preparation for jumping into the bog and then the crew took a tractor over to the bog. A bog is a marshy area of land made of decomposing plant material and water. The ground is very squishy and basically waterlogged peat. Bogs are very important to Ireland and the peat gathered from them was used as the primary from of heat (they burned it) for many years. This is also were the bog bodies are found. Bog bodies are human remains that are almost perfectly preserved in the bog because no bacteria can get to the bodies. I, however, did not encounter any of these today.

When we got to the bog we asked Debbie how deep she thought we would go in considering all of us were a little concerned about just jumping into a bog. She thought we would probably go up to our chest. A little concerning but this didn't stop the first boy (coincidentally named Pete) from jumping in.

Then his friend jumped in...

Then Brittany couldn't wait anymore and jumped in (after I promised that I would dig her out if needed)...

And it turned out she needed to be dug out, so I jumped in too!

The trick to bog hopping is to not land in a straight line because your legs will go straight down and it is rather difficult to pull them up. The bog just molds to your legs and created suction. It's almost like being in play-doh or maybe quicksand (I assume). Anyway, I literally jumped right in to save Brittany and dug her legs out.

Rescue Mission!

And then we jumped in several more times. Notice Stacy climbing out behind us.

As I've mentioned before, we've met two other Deltasigs while being here named Lauren and Bridget. We thought it would be a good brother bonding moment to jump in the bog together and through up some Deltas. So...

I threw up the Delta to signal to them to come in...

And we were all in the bog together!

And that was not enough adventure for us so the four of us decided to jump in from high up the hill to really get waist deep into the bog. Lauren and Bridget were a little scared so Brittany and I jumped in first holding hands.

And then we were really "bogged down."

Don't worry, I'm not screaming, I'm laughing.

And so the struggle to get out begins...

You have to crawl because if you walk your legs will just go right down.

The bog monster emerges.

While we were stuck in the bog together I threw some peat at Brittany and she through a little back but for fear of starting a full on peat fight we stopped. Cleaning bog out of hair did not sound appealing to either of us.

Bog Warriors!

All the Bog Warriors by the bog.

And then we had to clean off. Apparently bog hopping isn't as common as we thought because when we arrived back at the farm the farmhands exclaimed how dirty we were and didn't know what to do. We hosed off with one spigot, buckets, and some hand soap. We also got disposable dish clothes and the staff kept remarking how we were living luxuriously by getting soap and clothes. 

After getting as clean as one can with what we were given we hopped back on the bus and came back to Dublin. And I can't wait to go bog hopping again!

Blessington: Not all who wander are lost

Blessington Lake

Hitting the "one month before classes end and most the wolf pack leaves for home" mark has really lit a fire under all of us and therefore we took advantage of a sunny day in Ireland (although apparently there is quite a lot of ash floating around because our airport is closed). Brittany suggested and planned a trip into the Wicklow Mountains to see Blessington Lake, which is apparently one of the filming locations in PS: I Love You. We didn't have much of a plan other than seeing it and taking in Ireland.

Jen and Stacy also joined Brittany and I for the adventure. We hoped on the bus in Dublin and after an hour ride we in Blessington. We got off of the Dublin Bus in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, literally on a country road next to a gas station. Guess Blessington isn't a big tourist destination. We headed into the gas station to pick up some ice cream bars to munch on while walking and then headed over to the lake.

We got to the lake itself and what can I say? There were gorgeous views that seem to be everywhere in Ireland. The four of us found a perch above the lake, kicked off our shoes, put on our shades, and soaked up the atmosphere and sun. It was a great time just enjoying the blue sky and each other's company.

Taking it in

After resting for a while we decided to try and get closer to the lake so we could dip our toes in. We climbed down to the shore and put our feet in the water to discover that it was very chilly. Of course, with all my exposure to chilly water through my years of diving and vacationing to California during March this was not going to stop me from enjoying Blessington Lake.

Jen was in awe of the beauty standing before her and had to embrace it the only way she knew how- by stripping down and jumping in. So Jen peeled off her clothes and waded into Blessington Lake to become one with nature. I had her camera and stood by the shore snapping pictures (because she wanted to capture the moment, not because I'm a creep). I'm sure you can guess what happened next...

I couldn't let Jen have all the fun with this once in a lifetime experience so next thing I knew I was laying my underwear on the beach and walking in after her. Of course, the moment was slightly dampened by my constant fears of being arrested for not only swimming in a lake that you are not supposed to swim in, but swimming there in the nude. But to contrast that, it was also a very liberating experience. (And Brittany and Stacy have seen more of Jen and I then they ever cared to.)

So we hopped around giggling and taking in nature for a while before the cold water was too much for us and we headed for shore. I sundried for a little bit and then we packed up and hiked a little more.

Our goal was to get to the bus station in town, a little farther down the road from the lake so we started walking that direction. Turns out what could have been a quaint country road was a death wish. The cars were going very quickly and there was no shoulder for us to walk on so we had to get in the shrubs on the side of the road and walk there. At one point we ran into a path that went into the woods and walked down that for a while. While in the woods, which Jen thought definitely held fairies, we stumbled across a bunch of shamrocks. They were so cute and green and Irish. We also made friends with the sheep and lambs in the fields, but our interaction consisted mostly of them running away from us when they heard us trudging through the brush.

Can you believe this? That's real life Ireland!

Not all who wander are lost. 

Successful day.

Eventually we were walking down the road when I spotted the bus coming. I flagged it down like the pro I am and we hopped on to head back to Dublin. On the ride back Jen and I discussed Harry Potter and when we arrived in Dublin we finished off our Irish day with an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

I'm a Castlephile

Dunluce Castle is romantically perched on the cliffs looking out towards Scotland. It is one of the biggest castles in Northern Ireland and resisted many sieges during the Middle Ages but it could not withstand the forces of nature. During a dinner in 1639 half the kitchen fell into the ocean along with some of the servants. Now all that's left are the picturesque ruins.

Dunluce Castle on the Antrim Coast

Next to the ruins during our tour in Northern Ireland

Adventures in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland suits me well

Stevie, Brittany, and I had booked a tour of Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, and Derry that was supposed to leave at 8:30. We woke up at 7:30 so that we could check out and hopefully get some of the free full English breakfast we were promised. The hostel was divided into two apartment buildings which were next to each other, each with multiple bedrooms and one with the front desk. We were in the building without the front desk so at 7:50 we went to the other apartment to check-out. We rang the bell and William did not come to the door. We stood there trying to get in by ringing the bell, knocking, calling William's cell phone, and even yelling through the mail slot for about 20 minutes and then we had to go catch our tour. There were three other women that could not get in either and were going to continue pounding on the door.

My driver's license was in a safe at the front desk but we assumed Willy was in a whiskey induced coma (remember that when we left him he was drinking a new bottle of whiskey alone) and the plan was to just pick up my ID and pay for the room. We walked over to Paddy's Palace Hostel which was only about ten minutes away. I went into the hostel and they told me that the tour was leaving at 9:30, not 8:30, and that the website was wrong. This worked out for us because we were sure that by this time William would have answered the door and I could get my ID and pay for the room.

We walked back to the hostel and no one was waiting outside, a good sign. We rang the doorbell and the three Australian women who were outside answered it, not William. Another guest had let them in and good ol' Whiskey Willy was still nowhere to be found. People were waiting in the lobby and discussing what to do. And what does one do when people are getting anxious and angry? Make breakfast.

I was promised a full Irish breakfast and I was going to get it, even if the chef was nowhere to be found. I went into the kitchen and got to work making toast for the hungry crowd. I made about ten slices of toast and served those along with jam and marmalade to the group of people gathered in the lobby. Brittany then came in the kitchen and we whipped up some scrambled eggs for Stevie and us. Unfortunately we had to get to the tour or you had better believe that I would be taking orders and feeding the masses. Due to shortage of time, toast would have to do.

We got to Paddy's Palace for the second time and got on the minibus for our all-day tour. Our guide was Troy from a small town in Northern Ireland. He, like most the Irish people, enjoyed telling stories and making jokes. Our first stop was the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. The rope bridge is twenty meters high and was used by fishermen to lay nets on another island just off the shore. It cost a steep 4.90 GBP to cross it but we figured that this was a once in a lifetime thing and it was worth it.

The bridge itself was not the scary unless the person behind you was jumping and then I got a little nervous. The rope bridge was interesting but the views with the sunshine on my shoulders was the crown jewel. While we were lounging in the sun we also had a little photo shoot, and I love a good glamour shot.

We headed back to the bus and it was off to the Giant's Causeway, which is a geologic formation that looks like hexagonal stepping stones. When the lava cooled it formed columns and the waves have broken them down to varying heights as you'll see in the pictures.

That is of course the scientific explanation. The Irish explanation involves the giant Finn McCool. Legend goes that Finn heard that there was a beautiful female giant in Scotland. Finn didn't have anyone to love in Ireland and therefore built a path between Ireland and Scotland to meet his lady love. He went over to Scotland and fell in love with Eda and she returned with him to Ireland to live.

Eda was promised to another giant in Scotland who was out fighting the English at the time. When he returned to his town and found that Eda wasn't there he got angry and asked Finn for a duel for Eda's heart. He was a very skilled fighter and Finn would stand no chance against him. Finn told Eda what was going on and she said "Lovey, don't worry I have a plan. First, when he arrives I will tell him that you are out on a run around Ireland and you will be back in ten minutes. That way he will think you are a fit giant. Then I will serve him scones that are really rocks and they will break his teeth. While I am doing this you sneak into the bedroom and put a blanket over yourself and make a noise. I will tell him that this is our baby and then he will think you are a magical giant and will not want to fight you."

The day came for the duel and they began the plan. When the Scottish giant arrived Eda told him that Finn was dong a lap around Ireland and would be back in ten minutes. The Scottish giant thought that Finn must be a very fit giant if he could make it around the island in ten minutes. Next Eda served him the rock-scones and he broke his teeth. Eda said that the scones were prepared just the way "her Finny" liked. Next they heard a noise from the bedroom and Eda said that way their baby. The other giant asked if he could have a look and Eda said sure, but just from the hall because the baby was sleeping. The other giant took one look at the "baby" and ran because if the baby was this big imagine how big Finn was going to be. He ran down Finn's causeway breaking it up as he went and Finn and Eda lived happily ever after.

Now for the pictures!

This is my Celtic princess pose that I bust out when I feel particularly close to my homeland.

After checking out the causeway we went back up to the top of the hill for lunch at a hotel. I got the chicken tenders and garlic chips and they were bland and probably the worst food I have had since being here. I was not a happy camper. My pants were also very wet because I accidentally rolled into a pool of water whilst sunbathing on the causeway and that was causing me slight discomfort.

Our next stop was the town of Derry or Londonderry. If you are protestant you call it Londonderry, if you are Catholic you call it Derry, and if you don't want to show which religion you are you call it Stroke City. Derry is a walled city with 17th century walls surrounding it. There are still conflicts in Derry regarding the Troubles but there is hope that things are getting better. We wandered around the town a little, bought some jewelry from a lady selling it from a stand on the street, and then went to the mall to grab some iced coffee. Of course, once we were in the mall shopping ensued and Brittany and Stevie left Derry with new shoes.

One the way home William, our MIA hostel owner, called us and I was relieved to hear that he was alive. He said our stay at the hostel was on him and that we could swing by any time to pick up my ID. The mystery remained: where was he this morning?

We got back to Belfast and while Stevie went to  go get some dinner Brittany and I went to go pick up my ID. As soon as we got there I beelined for the washroom and left Brittany to get the details from Willy. Turns out he wasn't around that morning because he was in jail, do not pass go, do not collect 200 British pounds!

Storytime! So a girl staying at the hostel brought a guy back with her which is a no-no. William kicked them out and she started screaming, which caused the neighbors to call the police. When the police came William (who I am sure was fairly drunk) explained to them what happened and they understood but it is protocol to run someone's name through the system when making a call. When the police ran William's name it showed that he had an unpaid traffic violation and they brought him to the big house until noon the next day. William claims that he paid it and plans on suing the state. I was pretty psyched we got to stay in Belfast for free.

We got to the bus station in time to catch the eight o'clock bus back to Dublin. Stevie got out some more Sterlings (the currency used in Northern Ireland) so we could pay for the bus but then they said that they only use euros which was frustrating. One the bus the guy sitting in front of me (Franklin) told me that it looked like I had Celtic descent. I told him I was an O'Connell and he said that was a very Irish name and urged me to look up Daniel O'Connell, the Emancipator.

Highlights of Belfast:

1. Wendy our hilarious tour guide
2. Smoking a cigar with Victor
3. Hanging out with the locals and getting free cokes
4. Being in the beautiful weather
5. Making toast for the hostel
6. Finding out William was in jail

Belfast

Hold on tight because Belfast was a wild ride! I'm talking seriously random events after the historical stuff.

The Quinn Business School organized a trip to Belfast for the study abroad students and I was all about a free day in Belfast so Saturday morning I was at the bus stop ready to roll. The trip with the school was only for Saturday but Brittany, Stevie, and I seized the opportunity and decided to stay the night and spend Sunday in Northern Ireland too.

After a couple of hours in the bus we stopped at a hotel right at the border for a full Irish breakfast which usually includes eggs, cereal, sausage, bacon, toast, and puddings. For those of you who don't know, black pudding is sausage made from pigs blood among other things; I didn't have any. At breakfast we shared a table with the students from Bentley and got to know them better. We also shared lunch with them.

After another small ride we got off the bus at Stormont, the Northern Irish Parliament. It was a gorgeous day in Belfast and it was upsetting that we had to spend time inside on a tour of the building. The Stormont building is rather large and the rooms inside are mostly modeled after British Parliament. One interesting thing about it is that during WWII it was a Royal Air Force command center. Because the building was big, white, and on top of a hill that all roads lead to this did not make it the optimal place for a war room so they painted the building black with tar and manure and camouflaged the roads leading there.

Entrance Hall

After the tour we ate some lunch at Stormont (sandwiches and soup) and then got back on the bus for our tour of the city of Belfast. Wendy was our guide and she was an older woman that was hysterical. My favorite part is when she told the cops that it was ok that the bus was parked in a no-parking zone. She acted like she owned the city and trust me, Belfast cops are not people you want to mess with (their cops cars look like small armored Hummers).

Our first stop was the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, where the Titanic was built. They have a lot of pride in their shipbuilding history and that they have the two biggest cranes in the world (nicknamed Goliath and Samson). Wendy said that two popular phrases about the Titanic in Belfast are "It was floating when it left here" and "It took an Irishman to build it and an Englishman to sink it."

The dry dock where the Titanic was held

Up next was the city center of Belfast. Wendy explained to us the "Troubles" of Belfast and showed us the sights, most of which had been bombed more than one time. Like Berlin, it was a very hard history to hear with a lot of innocent victims, but unlike Berlin it is such a recent history. The peace is still very new and uncertain, and crimes are still taking place. According to our tour guide the next day, a new organization called The Real IRA doesn't like the peace agreements that are in effect and continue to act like terrorists/freedom fighters, with a shooting happening a couple of weeks ago at a British military base.

Apparently the city centre itself is very safe but the area outside of it is still very divided (literally). Wendy took us up to Falls Road (Nationalist/Catholic) and Shankill Road (Unionist/Protestant) which is divided by the Peace Wall. The Peace Wall is covered in murals, as are many of the buildings. The Unionist murals tend to be more graphic but they are trying to change that. Wendy also explained to us the hunger strikes where ten Nationalists starved to death for a united Ireland.

Black cabs are a big thing here because during the Troubles the bus service had to be discontinued because people were bombing them and using them as road barriers. I didn't realize how serious things were until I heard the history. As I said before, it was a downer.

Murals on Falls Road

You can see the walls that still divide the city. It used to just be the concrete portion but they had to add the fence on top to prevent people from throwing bombs over the wall. The majority of people say that they want the walls down, just not yet. The agreement is also that once 51% of the citizens want to join the Republic of Ireland then they will but until then they are part of the UK.

Mural stating their loyalty to the Queen on Shankill Road.

After the tour we left our study abroad comrades and with directions from Wendy went in search of our hostel. We arrived at the Lagans Backpackers Hostel without much difficulty. When we arrived we met William, the hostel owner, who would eventually learn the nickname "Whiskey Willy." He gave us the key, told us we could pay tomorrow when we checked out, and gave us the low-down on what to do in Belfast along with some 10% off coupons for a local restaurant.

Our first stop was the mall that had a glass dome on the top for views of Belfast but it was unfortunately closed (everything closed super early for a Saturday) so we headed to Lavery's, the restaurant we had coupons for. The place was hoppin' because some sporting event was on and the only open table wasn't a whole but but rather a half of a table. The other half was occupied by three old men. 

And so the fun begins. And I would also like to stress that we were completely sober and all this is true.

Of course I am the one who has to sit next to the locals, probably due to my desire for living like a local as much as I can. I scoot in the booth next to this old man (turns out he is 64) and he starts making conversation with me right off the bat. Let me start by saying that I between the noise of the bar, his drunkenness, and his brogue I could only understand about 40% of what he was saying. After nodding and smiling a lot I turned to Stevie and Brittany in an attempt to phase out of the conversation. Then the old man offered us Diet Cokes. After asking Stevie and Brittany if they thought the Cokes were drugged we accepted. Victor (the old man) explained to me that he gets a free Coke with his Bacardi. Now I don't know how much Victor had to drink (I asked and he refused to say) but the three of us had three Cokes a piece (some of the Cokes might have been from Victor's friends, I don't know).

And things got crazier from there. Victor was there with his two friends, Trooper and Albert, also older men. When Trooper heard Brittany's name he honestly starting sing "Party in the USA" and "put my hands up, singing my song." This probably happened 15 times throughout the night. Albert also explained to Stevie the downsides of having a tattoo and there was a lot of other random conversation. We also gained another person at our table, an Australian-Spanish man who I will refer to as Spazzy (Spanish/Aussie) because I could not understand his name. He was very interested in the football game and cheered loudly in Espanol but we also chatted with him.

Eventually Victor, the very old and inebriated man, and I got very close. He told me that he drinks every Friday since his wife died. Very sad. After talking I told Victor that he was my best friend and I was going to send him a Christmas card he pulled out his wallet and I was hoping that he was going to give me money like a good grandfather figure but instead he pulled out something more valuable, a laminated business card with his picture on it. 

Priceless. And I'm fairly sure that picture was taken in the pub.

And notice that in his picture he is smoking a cigar. I thought this was hysterical and asked Victor if he smoked cigars and said that I had been known to smoke occasionally. This is when Victor pulled two cigars out of his coat and asked if I would smoke one with him. Smoke a cigar in Belfast with a drunk 64 year-old man? I think yes!

Worth a thousand words.

After smoking half a cigar (apparently you can only smoke half of one in a bar) Brittany, Victor, and I headed back into the bar from the smoking area. After startling the whole bar by belting "Respect" by Aretha Franklin when it can on we met Manuel, one of Spazzy's friends. He came and sat next to me and we conversed in Spanglish. I also discovered that his name was Claudio, not Manuel, and he was staying at our hostel. We danced to "Party in the USA" a couple more times and then were on our way (Victor and his buddies left a little before we did to get some Chinese food).

We went to go see The Crown, the oldest pub in Belfast. It was adorable with its stained glass and copper ceilings. We just stopped in for a look and then went back to our hostel because we had an early morning.

But the fun didn't stop there. We got back to the hostel and the girls elected me to go to the front desk and get the WiFi code. When I went down there William invited us to come drink some whiskey with him. It had been the kind of night when you just go with it so next thing you know the three of us are sitting with William and four other guests drinking Powers whiskey and Coke. We just stayed down there a little bit and when we left William had just bought a new bottle of whiskey and was drinking alone.

And that was only Day 1.